An explanation of verb to be for begginers

1. Verb
To Be

2. Important
Remember that verb “to be” has two
different meanings in Spanish and
you need to understand which one
of the two is being used by
deducting it from the context.

3. Positive sentences with verb “to be”
Subject + form of be (am, is or are) + complement.
• I am an excellent soccer player.
• I am at the University.
• You are the best student in the English class.
• Laura is my mother’s closest friend. (She)
• Mario is in the school’s chess team. (He)
• This book is excellent. (It)
• Jessie and I are in the conversational class together. (We)
• Danny and Jenny are brother and sister. (They)

4. Negative sentences with verb “to be”
Subject + form of be (am, is or are) + not + complement
• I am not an excellent soccer player.
• I am not at the University.
• You aren’t the best student in the English class. (are not)
• Laura isn’t my mother’s closest friend. (She, is not)
• Mario isn’t in the school’s chess team. (He, is not)
• This book isn’t excellent. (It, is not)
• Jessie and I aren’t in the conversational class together.
(We, are not)
• Danny and Jenny aren’t brother and sister. (They, are not)

5. Short answer questions with verb “to be”
Form of be (am, is or are) + Subject + complement?
• Am I an excellent soccer player? Yes, I am / No I am not
• Am I at the University? Yes, I am / No I am not
• Are you the best student in the English class?
• Is Laura my mother’s closest friend? Yes, she is/ No she isn’t
• Is Mario in the school’s chess team? Yes, he is/ No he isn’t
• Is this book excellent? Yes, it is / No it isn’t
• Are Jessie and I in the conversational class together?
Yes, we are / No we aren’t
• Are Danny and Jenny brother and sister?
Yes, they are/ No they aren't

6. Long answer questions with verb “to be”
Wh- + Form of be (am, is or are) + Subject + complement?
• Who is my mother’s closest friend?
R./ Laura is my mother’s closest friend.
• Where is Mario?
R./ Mario is in the school’s chess team?
• How good is this book?
R. / This book is excellent.

7. About contractions
The first person singular of to be can not be
contracted in the negative form with the
negative particle not, but it can be
contracted with the subject.
Example: I am’t Incorrect
I’m not Correct

8. More about contractions
For the rest of the persons: singular or plural,
the form of be can be contracted with either
the subject or the negative particle not in
negative sentences, but they can only be
contracted with one of the two at a time.
Example: She’sn’t incorrect
She’s not correct
She isn’t correct

9. Most Common Wh-
• What (What time)
• Where
• When
• Which
• Why
• Who
• How (How many, how much, how often, etc)
• Whose

10. Thank you!
Knowing these simple facts about
verb “to be” will help you
communicate better.